I live in North Carolina, and have been told that I can be arrested for cutting down a DOGWOOD tree. I think it is because it is a STATE tree? My question is... How do the Land Developers get around not Bulldozing these trees when they are clearing land to build houses, office blocks, supermarkets etc? Does the law just "turn a blind eye".

Hello ram:

The only time I've seen the law turn a blind eye, is when they're dealing with government leaders. However, when the rest of us deal with the law, we get STOMPED on.

If the tree is protected, then I doubt developers bulldoze them. I'll bet they MOVE them.

If you know of a particular instance where that didn't happen, you can do some investigating on your own. Records of the development ARE public. Laws regarding the trees ARE public. Permits needed by the development ARE public.

If you find that some company DID bulldoze the trees contrary to law, you can blow the whistle on them. In some cases, whistle blowers are rewarded. In others, they're run out of town.

excon

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Originally Posted by ramrod6231

I live in North Carolina, and have been told that I can be arrested for cutting down a DOGWOOD tree. I think it is because it is a STATE tree? My question is...How do the Land Developers get around not Bulldozing these trees when they are clearing land to build houses, office blocks, supermarkets etc? Does the law just "turn a blind eye".

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I can't find anything indicating that the dogwood is protected. It's my understanding that the State tree is the fraser fir.

Has anyone given you any indication that it is, in fact, illegal and given you any statute?

Some of the websites indicate that dogwoods are almost like weeds in some areas so I don't know why they would be protected, State tree or not.

In my area you can get a permit from the DEC - or whatever other agency is in the area - to cut down a protected (usually very old) tree if removing it is necessary for whatever reason, including building. People usually protest but lose the fight because you can't keep people from making a living and if you're a contractor, that's what you need to do to make a living.

Thank you both for your answers. I remember being told this years ago, and have often wondered how they get around destroying these trees. I go in the woods a lot and have seen large areas of Dogwoods. Later, this same area was cleared for an Apartment complex. That's what made me wonder about the law on Dogwoods.

I live in NC also and have heard the same thing that you have about not cutting dogwoods. It is the state flower (not the state tree). I decided to search the NC statutes on line and see what I could find. There may be some other rule somewhere else, but this was all that came back under a search for "dogwood". The statute making dogwood the state flower is NC General Statute 145-1 (adoped in 1941). The statute about not cutting dogwood (which does not apply to every county by the way - see the last sentence) is NC General Statute 14-129. It is interesting. It says you cannot cut dogwood (and a lot of other things) on someone else's land or public land without a permit. A violation is a misdemeanor. However, it appears that you can cut dogwood on your own land under this statute. Here is the statute:
§ 14 129. Taking, etc. of certain wild plants from land of another.
No person, firm or corporation shall dig up, pull up or take from the land of another or from any public domain, the whole or any part of any Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula), trailing arbutus, Aaron's Rod (Thermopsis caroliniana), Bird foot Violet (Viola pedata), Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), Blue Dogbane (Amsonia tabernaemontana), Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis), Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis), Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria), Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum pedatum), Walking Fern (Camptosorus rhizophyllus), Gentians (Gentiana), Ground Cedar, Running Cedar, Hepatica (Hepatica americana and acutiloba), Jack in the Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum), Lily (Lilium), Lupine (Lupinus), Monkshood (Aconitum uncinatum and reclinatum), May Apple (Podophyllum peltatum), Orchids (all species), Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia), Shooting Star (Dodecatheon meadia), Oconee Bells (Shortia galacifolia), Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum), Trailing Christmas (Greens Lycopodium), Trillium (Trillium), Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica), and Fringe Tree (Chionanthus virginicus), American holly, white pine, red cedar, hemlock or other coniferous trees, or any flowering dogwood, any mountain laurel, any rhododendron, or any ground pine, or any Christmas greens, or any Judas tree, or any leucothea, or any azalea, without having in his possession a permit to dig up, pull up or take such plants, signed by the owner of such land, or by his duly authorized agent. Any person convicted of violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor only punished by a fine of not less than ten dollars ($10.00) nor more than fifty dollars ($50.00) for each offense. The provisions of this section shall not apply to the Counties of Cabarrus, Carteret, Catawba, Cherokee, Chowan, Cumberland, Currituck, Dare, Duplin, Edgecombe, Franklin, Gaston, Granville, Hertford, McDowell, Pamlico, Pender, Person, Richmond, Rockingham, Rowan and Swain.